#261A - 1894 Unwatermarked $1
See below for details
Basic Info
$1
Grayish black or black
TYPE II
Subject: Commodore Matthew Perry
Number issued:8,762
Perforations: 12
Watermark: Unwatermarked
Scott #: 261A
Issued: November 15th, 1894
Earliest date of use: December 6th, 1894
Value
Used
$125 - $200
No postmark with gum (MH)
$400 - $1,000
Full perfect gum, no postmark
no trace of stamp hinge mark (MNH)
$2,500 - $4,000
Cancels
Infrequently the $1 stamp was required on heavy parcels or overweight letters to foreign destinations, which meant heavy cancels, as seenabove. Clean or light cancels add a premium to the value.
261 or 261A?
Plate #'s
#261 and 261A were issued with the following plate #'s
76
Inspiration for the Design
The old 90 cents gave way to a new $1, the profile of Perry being transferred to the new value
The two new 1894 values, the 50¢ and the $1 did not have new engravings of presidential heads, they just recycled the 1870 engravings.
The original 1870 design of Perry was based on Walcotts bust, of which I am unable to find an image.
Above is shown a similar marble bust of Perry by Erastus Dow Palmer, a contemporary of Walcott.
The US Postal Service issued this stamp in 1953 to commemorate Commodore Perry's achievement
Proofs
261A-P1
Large die proof on India, die sunk on card
261A-P1
The 1894 Bureau Series
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